At a rally for gubernatorial candidate, Ralph Northam, former president Barack Obama said he is related to the former head of the confederacy, Jefferson Davis.
Buzz60

While rallying in Virginia for his first campaign event since leaving office, former president Barack Obama joked about his relationship with his distant relative, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

"I'll bet he's spinning in his grave," Obama said when discussing how Americans should address the history of slavery in the U.S.

"My mother — you can trace her lineage — and like I'm a eighth or ninth or tenth or something cousin removed from Jefferson Davis who was the head of the Confederacy."

The former president was speaking at a campaign event with Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam. Obama also addressed in a more serious tone the issue of how the U.S. should remember its slave-owning past.

"We shouldn't use the most painful parts of our history just to score political points," Obama said. "We don't rise up by repeating the past, we rise up by learning form the past."

But of his Kenyan lineage — which was the cause of controversy during his presidency when some conservatives, including President Trump, claimed Obama was not born in the U.S. — the Hawaiian-born politician was also able to crack a joke.

"My father was from Kenya, as you know. Well, some of you know. Some of you may have forgotten."

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama pose with a group of golfers' wives and girlfriends during opening ceremonies for the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., on Sept. 28, 2017.
Andrew Gombert, European Pressphoto Agency

In this July 3, 2017, photo provided by Jolene Jackinsky, Obama holds Jackinsky's 6-month-old baby girl while posing for a selfie with the pair at a waiting area at Anchorage International Airport, in Anchorage, Alaska.
Jolene Jackinsky, AP

This handout picture released by the Indonesian Presidential Palace on June 30, 2017, shows Indonesian President Joko Widodo chatting with Obama on the lawn of the presidential palace in Bogor.
Handout, AFP/Getty Images

Obama waves to reporters as he walks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, upon arrival for their meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, on June 30, 2017.
Dita Alangkara, AP

Obama speaks with Sam Kass, food entrepreneur and former White House chef, during the third edition of "Seed & Chips: The Global Food Innovation Summit," focusing on new technologies for feeding the globe, in Milan on May 9, 2017.
Andreas Solaro, AFP/Getty Images

Obama speaks at a community event on the Presidential Center at the South Shore Cultural Center on May 3, 2017, in Chicago. The Obama Foundation unveiled plans for the former president's lakefront presidential center, showcasing renderings and a model.
Nam Y. Huh, AP

Obama and former attorney general Eric Holder leave the funeral mass for longtime Pittsburgh Steelers chairman, Pro Football Hall of Famer and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney on April 18, 2017.
Gene J. Puskar, AP